Slowly but surely, around the world airline traffic will start coming back

These are very difficult times, the need for all possible measures to mitigate the spread of CV19 is paramount

I see airlines taking all kinds of precautions to provide the ‘cleanest’ possible environment and encourage passengers to wear masks (should be mandatory)

So, with the understanding that all possible measures of social distancing and general hygiene measures being followed why not advertise this and start gently encouraging people to at least think about traveling again ?

Well, for one they are advertising the measures they are doing to keep people safe. It’s mostly through social media and emails to frequent fliers. Otherwise, traditional advertising costs money, something every airline is trying desperately to save right now. When the numbers start to drastically increase and most of the states and countries start to open up, I’m sure traditional advertising will resume.

When an economic downturn hits, consumers and companies alike become more cautious with their money. Customers aren’t buying as much, which means that businesses have to find costs to cut to stay afloat. Scaling back costly ad dollars spend is a natural move. NY Times for example only this week reported its advertising income has dropped 50%.Low cost means like social media and tons of media stories is how the airlines can get the story out about their efforts.

Watching all the internet companies that rely on advertising dealing with this is interesting. Not much advertising needed when people are physically unable to buy many products. Difficult to advertise flying when you don't know if there will be any happening.

Advertising today would be a huge financial black hole when the world is on lockdown, most airlines are virtually shutdown and more folks than during the depression have been left jobless.Unless you are so disconnected from reality, I don't see anyone really thinking about buying airline tickets and taking that family vacation.

Its not politically correct to advertise to travel when there are still massive amount of stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions, and border closures. That would send a very mixed message, not to mention face the rath of the corona-karens pandemic shaming anyone and everyone.

I think people are so wary (rightfully) of travel right now that reaching out to them via advertising of any form, but especially TV is important

It may cost money but it’s important, it needs to be communicated what measures are being undertaken to keep passengers as safe as possible

With awareness, the beginning of a road back can begin

I think the others above were obvious, but the Captain will jump in right here.

Yes, people are thinking of traveling but many are not at all.

You can't...

Go to resorts without knowing when they will open

Plan business travel when clients will not accept visitors for quite some time

Travel for business as most companies have shut down their corporate booking tool. There will be huge liability concerns here

Go to sporting events

Do anything in Vegas

Get accepted in most foreign countries

And so on...

They don't know what the future holds in them for a paycheck or how this will unfold. There will be more job reductions in the future in some industries where their intake of revenue will become much less.

This is not a switch to turn back on. The U and V curves will not happen, it will be more so of a L curve.

Slowly but surely, around the world airline traffic will start coming back

That’s an incredibly optimistic statement.

Are you really expecting it to stay like this forever?

No, it won't be like this but it's not going to come back the way it was either. No one knows when the lock down will end. Nor will anyone be able to say when the airline industry will be considered back. If it does rebound significantly then flights will start up. But for now, it's a waiting game.

Advertising right now is a 'no-no' - especially when you are in the news cycles for all the wrong reasons.

On the one hand, you're right if you're talking about conventional kinds of advertising.

But then there was Emirates' ad that showed people two years from now talking about the days when they had to quarantine, and it ended with the words, "someday soon, we'll be talking like this. And on that day, Emirates will take to the skies." Airplane buff that I am, I had never expected to tear up at an airline commercial, but watching this one, that's exactly what I did. And I love Dubai. Why not a trip on Emirates when this is over?

When is never. You are of course assuming that airlines will have the resources to resume full operations which they don't. All flying is affected by this crisis. It's just the beginning of the depression that the airline industry is now facing. Companies don't want to risk the health of their employees so alot of business travel will be curtailed until such a time as can be safely done. This may take years to get back to what will become normal.

I can't really stand any TV advertisement at the moment since it doesn't come across sincere, its more or less gaslighting or pandering to tell us "we are all in this together" or "during these uncertain times" or "the new normal".....please buy our crap.

The thing is, a lot of people at the moment have lost their jobs because of the covid-19 spreading. Now if these people find it hard to get a job after covid-19 and have to use their savings trying to make ends meet. How do you expect people to buy tickets to fly off to the corners of the planet. When they will have pay off possible loans back to the banks, and when they get a job they might have to take a job that pays less than their previous job did.

Slowly but surely, around the world airline traffic will start coming back

These are very difficult times, the need for all possible measures to mitigate the spread of CV19 is paramount

I see airlines taking all kinds of precautions to provide the ‘cleanest’ possible environment and encourage passengers to wear masks (should be mandatory)

So, with the understanding that all possible measures of social distancing and general hygiene measures being followed why not advertise this and start gently encouraging people to at least think about traveling again ?

Advertising would require:

1. Money, which airlines don't have2. The ability to travel, which is virtually nonexistent 3. Marketing departments, which will be gutted across the board come October 1 at least in the US

One of the best lessons from the last recession: you have to work your way out of it. The harder you work, the sooner you'll break out and the better you'll ride the recovery. And so the smart companies are now plotting their come-backs.

The companies I'm familiar with are also modeling their come-back as well. A month ago, that was a hard ask, but now that April is behind us, lock-downs are starting to thaw, public opinion is turning to re-opening, and orders are starting to resume. Those models have been guiding the business decisions being made for the past couple weeks, including sizing of the business and how to aggressively recover.

So if airlines aren't exactly advertising now, they are now planning on how to resume and when. The competitive ones will be forward-leaning and resume sooner.

Advertising today would be a huge financial black hole when the world is on lockdown, most airlines are virtually shutdown and more folks than during the depression have been left jobless.Unless you are so disconnected from reality, I don't see anyone really thinking about buying airline tickets and taking that family vacation.

I agree. Advertise after some good news. Right now, advertising would be reminding people how tough it is to social distance on a plane.

Lightsaber

PS, figure out campaigns. "Dependable", "Trustworthy".

But if one more person stands in front of $25,000 fridges and tells me "we are in this together" I will throw things. So wait until a add studio can film, don't film in a CEO or worse senators home.

IM messages to mods on warnings and bans will be ignored and nasty ones will result in a ban.

No, it won't be like this but it's not going to come back the way it was either.

Of course it will.

The question, of course, is when.

Not for years. Forget any serious leisure travel in Europe and probably around the world this year. Businesses are also waking up to the savings that video conferencing / home working and getting rid of offices will bring.

Sorry to sound pessimistic but aviation is in for a long tough ride, probably with many casualties.

On the original point, I’ve actually just watched a sponsor message for TUI but I’m assuming that is a historic deal. No airline in their right mind would spend a dime on advertising right now because nobody is going to buy.

Sandyb123

PS. I can’t wait to get away after lockdown. But it won’t be on a plane. I love flying and have travelled the world with work and leisure. But I’m driving wherever I go and I’m happy to drive from Scotland (where I live) to anywhere in Europe. I am not getting on a plane in the foreseeable.

I don't see anything major happening whatsoever ... or a return to higher load factors until the U.S. State Department lifts or revises it's Level 4 advisory. Even domestically corporate travel is going to be looked upon hard because of budgest/bottom line. What I do see is this: driving trips to honor celebrations e.g. Mother's/Father's Day in the US, graduation celebrations, beach trips that are driveable, honeymoons in Mexico and the Caribbean will take place as long as border restricitons are lifted by countries and provided they permit visitors (and yes ... American's could be prohibited!) We are just not going to see major changes until a fresh year is upon us .. with testing and confidence is regained .. and borders opened up.

No, it won't be like this but it's not going to come back the way it was either.

Of course it will.

The question, of course, is when.

Businesses are also waking up to the savings that video conferencing / home working and getting rid of offices will bring.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. In the short term, yes, but I think in the long term most companies that did engage in travel will likely go back to doing so. Video conferencing is great for small groups, but once you go over 10 or so people, it usually involves at least 1/3 if not more of the meeting going like this:

-Grace are you there?-Johnny, we are having trouble hearing you, are you there?-Rick is your audio on?-I think we just lost Noelle. Noelle are you still there?-Jillian, you are really echo-y. -Kevin, we can see you but we can't hear you.-Mike, I am going to mute you for a second because Susan is trying to talk. -Can you repeat that?-Chris, is there a kid talking in the background?

I was supposed to fly out to San Francisco for a meeting today. Around 2 hours of the meeting basically went as above. It was probably the biggest waste of time, and both my boss (and her boss) largely agreed. So unless they are going to invest in IT at everyone's residence and give everyone access to the same type of Wi-Fi connection and audio/video equipment, travel will resume for said events when all of this is over, and speaking with my friends I know my company is not the only one with this position.

Trust me anyone who is spending all day and every day on video conference and conference calls actually wants to be back in the office and/or travel to some extent.Its painful.The novelty has worn-off after nearly 8 weeks of this.

I am all for flexibility and working from home/remote when it makes sense, but most positions aren't effective for extended periods of time under these conditions.

Trust me anyone who is spending all day and every day on video conference and conference calls actually wants to be back in the office and/or travel to some extent.Its painful.The novelty has worn-off after nearly 8 weeks of this.

I am all for flexibility and working from home/remote when it makes sense, but most positions aren't effective for extended periods of time under these conditions.

Exactly. In my eyes, working at home after all these weeks is lowering my morale and happiness at work, which I'm sure is affecting my performance.

Also now my entire company has to go through this new "ethical video conferencing" training module. Essentially someone in my company was on a video conference call and everyone saw something...I don't know if it was an object or thing or personal body part in his call.

Most brands are pulling their ad spend back. It would be prudent for airlines to refrain from advertising too. A lot of the reasoning is that brands don't want their ads tied to all the negativity in the news and even in other commercials. As others have mentioned, it appears both contradictory and tone deaf.

And with 30 million people and counting unemployed and many still waiting on any sort of stimulus, flying is definitely not top of mind for these consumers and their families. Hell, if anything, marketing people at the airlines are likely going to get laid off first since their salaries don't physically get those planes in the air.

I am already so tired of EVERY brand in existence blanketing TV with why their "product" will make you feel all better again through all of this. It's gross. I think everyone should take a break right now beyond real PSAs.

The airlines need to be very cash sensitive right now. Advertising is really only really needed(if at all) once people feel comfortable to travel. I think the destinations and hotels will be all over this in time so the airlines can save their cash.

Right now the average person watching won't even consider stepping foot on a plane, and most borders are closed. Plus most destinations people would fly to are closed theme parks, MLB games, NBA playoffs, lots of hotels, Vegas, Resorts. Most destinations are closed they don't need to advertise until the average person would actually book and there are destinations to fly to.

Advertising it worthless when you cannot even convince healthy, well-off 65 year old first time grandparents that have elite status and typically gallivant around the world in paid F to hop on a plane to fly across the country to first visit their newborn grandchild.

I am already so tired of EVERY brand in existence blanketing TV with why their "product" will make you feel all better again through all of this. It's gross. I think everyone should take a break right now beyond real PSAs.

Voiceover: "In these uncertain times, it's more important than ever to buy a Toyota."

WN has been very out front about the steps they are taking to reassure current and future passengers that it is safe. Gary Kelly has been on most of the morning news programs, CNN etc.. fielding answers about air travel and what they are doing. I've also seen a ton of Facebook and Twitter advertising promoting their safety measures.

That's about the most I've seen from anyone, United has been out front too with their social media. In terms of ad buys for tv, print etc.. businesses were abandoning that even before the pandemic and focusing on social media.

International traffic needs both countries to allow citizens of both countries to enter the 2 countries without too much hassle.

"Fly to wonderful ABC and spent 2 weeks in self quarantine then explore the closed bars, closed beaches, closed tourist attractions,.. and spent another 2 weeks in self quarantine after you get home" does not sell, even if the ticket price is zero.

Businesses are also waking up to the savings that video conferencing / home working and getting rid of offices will bring.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. In the short term, yes, but I think in the long term most companies that did engage in travel will likely go back to doing so. Video conferencing is great for small groups, but once you go over 10 or so people, it usually involves at least 1/3 if not more of the meeting going like this:

-Grace are you there?-Johnny, we are having trouble hearing you, are you there?-Rick is your audio on?-I think we just lost Noelle. Noelle are you still there?-Jillian, you are really echo-y. -Kevin, we can see you but we can't hear you.-Mike, I am going to mute you for a second because Susan is trying to talk. -Can you repeat that?-Chris, is there a kid talking in the background?

I was supposed to fly out to San Francisco for a meeting today. Around 2 hours of the meeting basically went as above. It was probably the biggest waste of time, and both my boss (and her boss) largely agreed. So unless they are going to invest in IT at everyone's residence and give everyone access to the same type of Wi-Fi connection and audio/video equipment, travel will resume for said events when all of this is over, and speaking with my friends I know my company is not the only one with this position.

BINGO! No household has perfect internet connection, heck not even offices do. Business travel will be needed again. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but at some point in the next 6-8 months it will be.

Businesses are also waking up to the savings that video conferencing / home working and getting rid of offices will bring.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. In the short term, yes, but I think in the long term most companies that did engage in travel will likely go back to doing so. Video conferencing is great for small groups, but once you go over 10 or so people, it usually involves at least 1/3 if not more of the meeting going like this:

-Grace are you there?-Johnny, we are having trouble hearing you, are you there?-Rick is your audio on?-I think we just lost Noelle. Noelle are you still there?-Jillian, you are really echo-y. -Kevin, we can see you but we can't hear you.-Mike, I am going to mute you for a second because Susan is trying to talk. -Can you repeat that?-Chris, is there a kid talking in the background?

I was supposed to fly out to San Francisco for a meeting today. Around 2 hours of the meeting basically went as above. It was probably the biggest waste of time, and both my boss (and her boss) largely agreed. So unless they are going to invest in IT at everyone's residence and give everyone access to the same type of Wi-Fi connection and audio/video equipment, travel will resume for said events when all of this is over, and speaking with my friends I know my company is not the only one with this position.

BINGO! No household has perfect internet connection, heck not even offices do. Business travel will be needed again. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but at some point in the next 6-8 months it will be.

Agreed, I am getting kind of tired of the people arguing that this will lead to the collapse of business travel, as if most offices weren't already using video conferencing before the pandemic....